Mitt Romney tops Hillary Clinton in latest 2016 poll

While neither candidate has officially announced an intention to run, and one of them isn’t even actively seeking another campaign, a new poll shows Mitt Romney currently tops Hillary Clinton by 1 point.

Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s unsuccessful presidential nominee in 2012, leads the field for the 2016 election among Republican voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday.

The former Massachusetts governor would have a slight edge over potential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by 45 percent to 44 percent in a general election, the poll found. [Emphasis added]

Among possible Republican candidates, Romney’s 19 percent put him ahead of former Florida governor Jeb Bush with 11 percent, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Ben Carson each with 8 percent each, and U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky with 6 percent.

Carson, a former neurosurgeon with no political experience, is a conservative commentator and author of “One Nation,” which topped the New York Times best-seller list in June.

U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee all had 5 percent, while 16 percent of those questioned were undecided.

With Romney out of the picture, Bush polled 14 percent with Christie at 11 percent and Carson at 9 percent.

As noted, Romney also tops the GOP primary in general by a decent margin over Jeb Bush. With Romney out of the picture, Bush claims the top spot just barely. Most notable, perhaps, may be that Rand Paul isn’t even in the top 3 when Romney is removed.

About the Author

Nate Ashworth is the Founder and Senior Editor of Election Central. He's been blogging elections and politics for almost a decade. He started covering the 2008 Presidential Election which turned into a full-time political blog in 2012 and 2016.

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